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Hugo A. Bedau Papers
Biographical Sketch

Hugo A. Bedau (Ph.D., Harvard, 1961) is a commentator, scholar, and activist for the abolition of capital punishment. He is a prominent spokesperson in the abolitionist movement and well-known for his scholarship and writing concerning the death penalty and the challenge to separate logical arguments from moral arguments.

Bedau completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Redlands in 1949, did his graduate work at Boston University, and attained his doctorate in 1961 from Harvard University.[1] Before getting his doctorate, Bedau worked as an instructor and lecturer at Dartmouth College and Princeton University as his growing interest in death penalty issues led to an offer to serve on the Board of Directors of the American League to Abolish Capital Punishment. In 1961, Bedau completed the doctoral program and was soon hired as an Associate Professor at Reed College where he stayed from 1962-1966. During this time he published his first book, The Death Penalty in America: An Anthology (1962), that is currently in its 4th edition.

In 1966, Bedau was hired as Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University where
spent the next thirty-three years as he helped found the Center for the Study
of Decision Making. Among his scholarly work, Bedau is the author of
the Courts, the Constitution and Capital Punishment (1977); Death
is Different (1987); co-author, In Spite of Innocence (1992);
editor, Civil Disobedience in Focus (1991); Current Issues and
Enduring Questions (4th edition, 1996); co-editor, Capital Punishment
in the United States (1976); and a contributor to many other volumes.
He has also written books about writing such as Critical Thinking, Reading,
and Writing (2nd edition, 1996). His Romanell - Phi Beta Kappa lectures
delivered at Tufts in the spring of 1995, were published by Oxford University
Press under the title, Making Moral Choices.[2] In addition, he has published
hundreds of articles, essays, and commentaries on capital punishment.

In addition to his scholarship, Bedau has been active in the capital punishment abolition movement for many decades. He was the chairman of the board for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) and a board member for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts, the American League to Abolish Capital Punishment and several other organizations. He has also been a long time member of the Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty (MCADP) and an active member of such organizations as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Amnesty International, the American Philosophical Association, American Association of University Professors, and the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy. Bedau has frequently testified before state and federal legislative committees as an expert on the issue of capital punishment and has advocated for Death Row inmates, such as Harold "Wili" Otey who was executed in 1994 in Nebraska.

Bedau married his second wife Constance Elizabeth Putnam in 1990. In 1992,
she co-authored In Spite of Innocence with Bedau and Michael Radelet.[3]
Bedau has four children from his first marriage: Lauren, Mark Adam, Paul Hugo,
and Guy Anthony, as well as four grandchildren.[4]After retiring from Tufts
in 1999, Bedau has continued writing, speaking and working for the abolition
of capital punishment.

Hugo A. Bedau Papers
Scope and Content Note

The Hugo A. Bedau Papers encompasses a lifetime of research, scholarship,
and political activism regarding the issue of capital punishment.
All items in this manuscript group were
transferred to the University Libraries' M.E. Grenander Department of Special
Collections and Archives by Hugo A. Bedau in 2002 as part of the National Death Penalty
Archive.
The collection is arranged into four series: Series 1: Scholarship and Teaching; Series 2:
Correspondence; Series 3: Advocacy Organization; and Series 4: Subject Files.

The Bedau Papers are a valuable resource to scholars, students and historians
studying the controversial and politically volatile subject of capital punishment
from 1955 -2002. The records in this collection reflect Bedauâs commitment as a
leading academic and activist challenging the fundamental legality of the death
penalty. The entire collection, totaling nearly 37 cubic feet, contains Bedauâs
drafts, reprints, correspondence, writings and unpublished work, conference materials,
newsletters, records from advocacy organizations, and capital punishment case files.

Series 1 is devoted to Bedau’s scholarly writings including manuscripts,
journal articles, book chapters, opinion pieces, and transcripts of testimonies
Bedau gave to state and federal legislatures. Of note are unpublished works
such as drafts, notes, studies, proposals, reports, conference papers, lectures,
grant proposals and reports. This series also features Bedau and Michael Radelet’s Miscarriages
of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases including drafts, professional
critiques, testimonies, correspondence, notes, and news clippings.

Reflecting Bedau’s work with abolition organizations, Series 3 contains
minutes of meetings, project files, newsletters, press packets, correspondence,
event and conference material for many abolitionist groups such as the National
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), Massachusetts Citizens Against
the Death Penalty (MCADP), Amnesty International, American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), and the Legal Defense Fund. The collection also contains various
newsletters, press packets, correspondence, and information about many other
regional organizations including: the Alabama Committee to Abolish the Death
Penalty, Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation, Detention Ministry and
the Colorado Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Series 4 contains research material and newspaper clippings collected by Bedau
and covers more than 40 years of capital punishment issues and cases of interest
to him. This series closely follows Bedau’s original arrangement schemes
of organization by location, case and subject and contains a diverse collection
of news clippings, journal articles, and court decisions.

Hugo A. Bedau Papers
Series Descriptions

This series contains drafts and reprints of the works of Hugo Bedau. They
are organized first by format and then alphabetically by title. Formats include
journal articles, newspaper articles, pamphlets, book chapters, lectures, and
encyclopedia articles. Also included are materials related to various conferences
Bedau attended.

Sub-series 3: Subject.
This sub-series contains Bedauâs correspondence with publishers and researchers regarding some of his publications. It is organized alphabetically by title of publication. The final section in this series concerns the Harold Otey case. Bedau was a strong advocate for freeing Otey. The correspondence includes letters to and from Nebraskaâs governor, Oteyâs lawyer, and Otey himself. Also included are academic works, a transcript of his commutation hearing and appeals and newspaper articles.

This series contains a diverse collection of material regarding Bedau’s
participation in many advocacy organizations opposing capital punishment. These
organizations include: the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
(NCADP), Massachusetts Citizens Against the Death Penalty (MCADP), Amnesty
International, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Legal Defense
Fund (LDF). Since Bedau was on the Board of many of these organizations, the
folders contain the minutes of meetings, projects, events, and conferences.

Sub-series 5: Other Organizations.
This series contains alphabetically arranged materials related to various
advocacy groups including Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties
Union. There are also folders labeled “Various Organizations” which
contains materials from many organizations including: the Alabama Committee
to Abolish the Death Penalty, Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation,
Detention Ministry and the Colorado Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

This series contains news clippings, pamphlets, court documents, academic
papers, bibliographies, reports, journals articles, and newsletters about capital
punishment that Bedau devoted his life towards studying. Some of the material
is organized by the name of the defendant in a capital punishment case; some
is organized by state or country, and some is organized by subject. This series
contains a diverse amount of media formats including VHS and cassette tapes.

Sub-Series 1: General Files.
This sub-series contains various material organized alphabetically by subject.
Topics include capital punishment as a deterrent, race, innocence and wrongful
convictions.

Sub-series 3: Geographic Files.
This sub-series contains material organized alphabetically by place. The
first section is material related to the United States, the next is divided
by individual state, and the third is about foreign counties.

1. âThe 1964 Death Penalty Referendum in Oregon Some Notes from a Participant-Observer.â Crime
and Delinquency, Oct 1980
2. âAmerican Populism and the Death Penalty: Witnesses at an Execution.â Howard
Journal of Criminal Justice, 1994
3-4. âBenthamâs Utilitarian Critique of the Death Penalty.â The
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1983
5. âBergerâs Defense of the Death Penalty: How not to Read the Constitution.â Michigan
Law Review, 1983
6. Capital Punishment Issue of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry- edited by Hugo Bedau and Chester Piece (see: Capital Punishment in the United States), July 1975
7. âCapital Punishment in Oregon, 1903-1964.â Oregon Law
Review, 1965
8. âThe Choice Between Imprisonment and Death.â Albany Law
Review, 1990
9-10. âThe Courts, the Constitution and Capital Punishment.â (39pgs) Utah
Law Review, 1968
11-12. âThe Death Penalty as a Deterrent Argument and Evidence.â Ethics 1970, also published as âDeterrence and the Death Penalty: a Reconsideration.â The
Journal of Criminal Law, Northwestern University, 1971
13. âThe Death Penalty in America- Review and Forecast.â Federal
Probation, June 1971
14. âThe Death Penalty: Yesterday and Today.â Dickerson
Law Review, 1991
15. âThe Death Penalty in America: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.â The
Iliff Review, 1988
16. âThe Death Penalty in the United States: Background and Developments.â Natal
University Law Review, 1981
17. âThe Death Penalty: Social Policy and Social Justice.â Arizona State Law Journal, 1977
18-19. âDeath Sentences in New Jersey 1907-1960.â (64pgs)
Rutgers Law Review, 1965
20. âThe Decline of Executive Clemency in Capital Cases.â New
York University Review of Law and Social Change, 1990-1991
21. âThe Execution of the Innocent.â Law and Contemporary
Problems, 1998
22. âFelony Murder Rape and the Mandatory death Penalty: A Study in Discretionary Justice.â Suffolk
University Law Review, 1976
23. âFurmanâs Wake in the Land of Bean and Cod.â The Prison
Journal, 1974
24. âGreg v. Georgia and the âNew Death Penalty.â Criminal
Justice Ethics- John Jay College, 1985
25. âHow to Argue About the Death Penalty.â Israel Law Review, 1991
26. âImprisonment vs. Death: Does Avoiding Schwarzschildâs Paradox Lead to Sheleffâs Dilemma?â Albany
Law Review, 1990

Box 2
Folder

1. âThe Minimal Invasion Argument against the Death Penalty.â Criminal
Justice- John Jay College, 2002
2. âA Moral Reading of the Eighth Amendment.â Thomas M.
Cooley Law Review, 1996
3. âThe Nixon Administration and the Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty.â University
of Pittsburgh Law Review, 1973
4. âObjections to the Death Penalty from the Moral Point of View.â Revue Internationale de Broit Penal, 1987
5. âThe Problem of Capital Punishment.â Current History, 1976
6. âA Social Philosopher Looks at the Death Penaltyâ American
Journal of Psychiatrics, 1967
7-8. âThinking of the Death Penalty as Cruel and Unusual Punishment.â (52pgs) U.C.
Davis Law Review, 1985

50. Arbitrary Death Sentencing Research Project, 1972
51. âCapital Punishment in New Jersey: Documents and Studiesâ edited by Hugo Bedau, 1958
52. âDeterrence and the Death Penalty,â 1971
53. âDiscretionary Sentencing and severity of Sanction.â Research Proposal by Hugo Bedau, Bill Bowers, and John Flackett, 1974
54. âThe Future of the Death Penalty the Need for a National Project in Social Science Research on Capital Punishment,â 1973

Box 3
Folder

1. âThe Future of Capital Punishment- A Problem for Law and Social Science,â 1973
2. âLegislative Report: Should New Jersey Abolish Capital Punishmentâ WNTA Ch. 13 ABC Network, New Jersey, 1958
3. âAn Inventory of Death Penalty Research Projects.â Supplementary Report, 1973
4. Proposals to Foundations, 1973
5-6. âSocial Science Research and the Death Penalty in America: An Interim Report.â By Hugo Bedau and Elliott Currie, 1973
7. âA Study of Murder and Capital Punishment in the United States,â 1961
8. âWorldwide Abolition of Capital Punishment, with special reference to Great Britain and Canada, 1965-1970,â 1971
9. Miscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases. Hugo Bedau/Michael Radelet Study- Notes, 1985
10. Miscarriages of Justice, 1985-1987 Correspondence
11. Miscarriages of Justice, Response to Bedau-Radelet Death Penalty Study. Report to U.S. Attorney General by Stephan J. Markman, 1986. (Also contains âMiscarriages of Justice in Potentially Capital Cases.â Original Bedau/Radelet Study, 1985)
12. Miscarriages of Justice, âProtecting the Innocent: A Response to the Bedau/Radelet Study.â Stanford Law Review. By Stephen Markman and Paul Cassell, 1988
13-14. Miscarriages of Justice, âThe Myth of Infallibility: A Reply to Markman and Cassell.â Stanford Law Review, 1988
15. Miscarriages of Justice, Other Versions of Bedau/Radelet Study, 1985-1988
16-17. Miscarriages of Justice, Media Response to Bedau/Radelet Study, 1985-1993
18. Miscarriages of Justice, Testimony before House and Senate Judiciary committees by Paul Cassell April, July 1993. Testimony before US Senate by Hugo Bedau, Aug. 1993
19. Miscarriages of Justice, âErroneous Convictions in Capital Cases.â By Michael Radelet and Hugo Bedau, 1995
20. Miscarriages of Justice, âErroneous Convictions in Capital Cases.â By Michael Radelet and Hugo Bedau, 1999

Series 1: Scholarship and Teaching Sub-series 5: Book Chapters (Alphabetical)

21. âAbolishing the Death Penalty Even for the Worst Murderers,â 1999. Chapter in The
Killing State Capital Punishment in Law, Politics and Culture edited by Austin Sarat
22. âAbolishing the Death Penalty in the United States: An Analysis of Institutional Obstacles and Future Prospects.â Chapter in Capital
Punishment by Peter Hodgkinson, 2003
23. âCapital Punishment.â Chapter in Matters of Life and
Death, 1980 edited by Tom Regan
24. âCapital Punishment.â Chapter in Matters of Life and
Death 2nd edition, 1985 edited by Tom Regan
25. âCapital Punishment.â Chapter in Matters of Life and
Death 3rd edition, 1992 edited by Tom Regan
26. âCapital Punishment.â Chapter in The Oxford Handbook
of Practical Ethics, 2003 edited by Hugh La Follette
27. âThe Death Penalty in the United States: Imposed Law and the Role of Moral Elites.â Chapter in The
Imposition of Law, 1979
28. âThe Death Penalty in the United States.â Chapter in Capital
Punishment: Global Issues and Prospects edited by Peter Hodgkinson and Andrew Rutherford, 1996
29. âThe Death Penalty, Longhorn Style.â Chapter in International
Yearbook on the Death Penalty edited by William A Schabas, 1996
30. âThe Eighth Amendment, the Death Penalty, and Human Dignity.â Chapter in Human
Dignity, the Bill of Rights, and Constitutional Values edited by Michael J Meyer and William A. Parent

Box 4
Folder

1. âExecution of the Innocent.â by Michael Radelet and Hugo Bedau. Chapter in Americaâs
Experiment with Capital Punishment Edited by James Acker
2. âFallibility and Finality: Type II Errors and Capital Punishment.â Chapter in Adjudicating
Death: Moral and Legal Perspectives on Capital Punishment, 1987
3. âThe Gravest Errors in Capital Cases: Convicting the Innocent.â Chapter in Festschrift for Jan Stepan, 1994, Swiss Institute of Comparative Law
4. âHow to Argue About the Death Penalty.â Chapter in Facing
the Death Penalty: Essays on a Cruel and Unusual Punishment edited by Michael Radelet, 1989
5. âHow to Argue About the Death Penalty.â Chapter in Morality
in Criminal Justice, 1993
6. âThe Present Situation of the Death Penalty in the United States.â Chapter in the Death
Penalty, 2nd Edition, 2002
7. âReflections on Psychiatry and the Death Penalty.â Chapter in the Mosaic
of Contemporary Psychiatry in Perspective Festschrift for Louis Jolyon West, 1992

Series 1: Scholarship and Teaching Sub-series 6: Book Forwards/Postscripts

8. Forward of Death Penalty for Juveniles? By Victor L. Streib, 1986
9. Forward of Life in the Balance Procedural Safeguards
in Capital Cases by Welsh S. White, 1984
10. Postscript of Voices Against Death edited by Philip English Mackey, 1976

22. âCapital Punishment: The Literature Still Says No,â 1975 The Civil Liberties Review
23. âChallenging The Death Penaltyâ 1974 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil
Liberties Law Review. Review of Cruel and Unusual:
The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment by Michael Meltsner, 1973
24. âThe Future of the Death Penalty in America,â 1988 Contemporary Psychology. Review of The Ultimate Coercive Sanction: A Cross-cultural Study of Capital Punishment by Keith Otterbein and Capital Punishment and the American Agenda by Franklin Zimring and Gordon Hawkins
25. âLife Under Sentence of Death,â 1982 Crime and Delinquency. Review of Condemned to Die by Robert Johnson
26. âToward a comparative Jurisprudence on Capital Punishment,â 1984 Harvard Law Review. Review of Judicial Review of the Death Penalty by David Pannick, 1982
27. Untitled 1980 Ethics, University of Chicago. Review of Capital Punishment: Crime and Morality of the Death Penalty by Walter Berns, 1979
28. Untitled 1980 American Journal of Sociology. Review of The Penalty of Death by Thorsten Sellin, 1980

11. Arbitrary Death Penalty Abolition in Massachusettsâ Prepared for NCADP Meeting, 2000
12. Commission of Inquiry on the use of the Death Penalty in the United States,
1993
13. âConstitutional Issues Raised by Capital Punishment.â Bill of Rights Seminar at Harvard Law School, 1962
14. âCrime, Capital Punishment, and Social Justiceâ Lecture for Symposium on Capital Punishment. Loyola University, School of Law, 1976
15. âThe Current Status of the Death Penaltyâ ACLU Biennial Conference, 1974
16. âDeath Penalty Exceptionalism, Texan and Americanâ Lecture from conference on Texas and American Exceptionalism. University of Texas Law School, 2000
17. âMoral Arguments and the Death Penalty: Is Absolute Abolition a Tenable Policy,â 1996. Lecture to Annual Meeting of Eastern Division, American Philosophical Association
18. âMoral Arguments and The Death Penalty: Is Absolute Abolition a Tenable Policy,â 1997. Amherst College Conference
19. âPublic Health and the Epidemiology of the Death Penalty,â 1982 Lecture. Harvard Medical School Symposium
20. âSocial Science Research in the Aftermath of Furman v. Georgiaâ American Society of Criminology, 1973
21. âSome Thoughts on the Current Status of the Death Penalty in the United Statesâ
Northeastern Regional Conference of NCADP, 1986
22. Third Annual Henry Schwarzschild Lecture, 2001 (Bedau- Keynote Speaker)
23-24. Lecture Notes 1977-1995

14. Capital Punishment in the United States, 1976 Edited and Introduction by Hugo Bedau and Chester M. Pierce (See also: Capital Punishment issue of American Journal of Othopsychiatry,1975)
15. Capital Punishment in the United States, 1977-1983
16. The Courts, the Constitution, and Capital Punishment, 1969-1970
17. The Courts, the Constitution, and Capital Punishment, 1975-1988
18-21. Death Penalty in America, 1959-1967
22. Death Penalty in America, 1967-1971 for 1971 revision
23. Death Penalty in America, 1972-1978